Today is Guru Poornima.
Guru Poornima is a day to celebrate teachers and mentors. It is observed in the Hindu month of Ashadha (June–July) on the full moon day. There are many meanings of the word ‘Guru’ – one of them is ‘dispeller of darkness’, and on this day we remember and give thanks to all our teachers who have helped us learn and grow.
Lucky
The person who has a living Master, an Enlightened One in their lives is considered to be supremely lucky. There are billions of people on this beautiful planet. Out of those billions, just a few would contemplate life beyond the obvious. For the vast majority, life is mostly about eating, sleeping, working, sex and socialising. Even the thoughts of – “Who am I?” or “What could be the purpose of my life?” do not enter their heads.
There are people who do get these thoughts – but they dismiss them. They are too busy being busy.
From the people who get these thoughts, very few would be inspired to actually dwell on them. From these, only a few would turn towards Spirituality. From the ones who are drawn to Spirituality, hardly any would be able to have a path, a true teacher – mostly they just flounder. They are seekers, but that’s where their luck runs out because they never truly find even a way to the answers they are looking for. Many of these people end up going cuckoo because of their failed or faulty experiments while exploring the Spiritual dimensions.
From the ones who are sincere seekers, just a few would even find the teachings of an Enlightened Master and out of those hardly any would be able to decipher the meanings correctly.
Rare indeed are the ones who have a Living Master – a Guru, who can quench their thirst for Knowledge and show them a safe way into the secrets of Meditation and its myriad benefits.
Veda Vyasa and Lord Shiva
Today, on the full moon night, thousands of years ago, the great Veda Vyasa was born.
Veda Vyasa is considered one of the greatest of Gurus. He gave us not just the Vedas, but also the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata (of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part) and the Srimad Bhagavatam.
This full moon night is also special because on this night, Lord Shiva taught his wife Goddess Parvati – the secrets of Kundalini Yoga and immortality through the Vigyam Bhairav Tantra.
Advent of the Monsoon
This day is special too, because it marks the beginning of the rainy season (monsoon) in India. After the hot summer months, everyone looks forward to the rains. The life giving waters thunder onto the hot parched Earth, and we smell that beautiful earthy rainy smell of the Monsoon. We know that life is being renewed yet again. Guru Poornima is a time for new beginnings, an auspicious day to start new projects or ventures.
It even heralds the middle of the year. More than 6 months have passed since the year began. It’s a lovely time to reflect and see how far you have come and where you would like to see yourself in December. Like I have written in an earlier post – You need to do some thinking and act strategically to taste real success.
Meditation
If you have learned meditation, then today is a great day to meditate (as is every single day of course). If you have slipped up on your meditation practice, it’s a great day to reinforce the commitment to meditate every day.
Awake, sleep and dream are the three states everyone can experience. Meditation is the fourth state, the transcendent state, that only a Guru can truly unlock for you. If you don’t know how to meditate, then Guru Poornima could be a great day to begin.
Dinesh and I teach Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living series of meditation classes through the year and you can enrol for one of our courses by clicking this link.
Gratitude
Cultivate the attitude of Gratitude. Actively look for things to be grateful for. Every day. When you do this, the emerging field of neuroplasticity says that your brain is physically altered. The one who has gratitude is the one who wins. He is the one who is almost always ridiculously lucky. He sails through life, the wind always beneath his wings.
Today, on Guru Poornima, I feel immense gratitude to the Tradition of the Enlightened Ones, and to my own Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. I don’t ask for anything. I know all that is mine will eventually come to me. I simply feel blessed and lucky to be on this wondrous path.
You should too!
Jai Gurudeva!
love
Bawa (n Dinesh)
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